An Atfernoon in Stanley Village
Stanley is a small beach/market town in southern Hong Kong Island. After alighting from the chuckling cab driver I made my way to the flat of a couple who are family friends and who were kind enough to extend their hospitality to me for the afternoon. Entering the flat I was immediately drawn to the front window, which expanded the entire length and about half the width of the front living room wall. The view was spectacular and looked out upon Stanley Bay covered with windsurfers and fishing boats, as well as the small hills adorned with buildings that would later be covered in lights. After a necessary cup of coffee we headed out for a stroll. Compared to San Francisco it was incredibly hot and humid but the smog was beginning to burn off and show a blue sky. The beach looked soft and they told me that the water was generally clean and clear. We paused a minute to enjoy the lovely view and then headed into the market where I was eventually left to my own devices for a couple of hours to shop and wander.
The market is mostly covered and big enough to exhaust all but the most ardent shopper yet small enough that one likely wont pass out from heat exhaustion and overcrowding. Prices are reasonable (or so I am told having no other frame of reference) and goods range from the most touristy schlock (Chairman Mao alarm clocks) to everyday items such as clothes, shoes, and cooking utensils. The patrons also were quite diverse from tourists like myself trying to pick up some souvenirs to locals just trying to run an errand. The atmosphere was quite pleasant. Unlike your average East or South European or developing world market, no one was harassing me or anyone else to enter their shop or purchase their goods. If anything the proprietors maintained an air of indifference, which was only disappointing when trying to negotiate. They would simply shake their heads and indicate that you could pay or move on, it was all the same to them. Almost every shop and stand accepted credit cards.
When I tired of the market I went back to the flat of the aforementioned friends and we enjoyed a couple of cool cocktails before heading to dinner. The sunset was rather beautiful but incredibly short. Apparently due to the global positioning of HK the sun just suddenly drops out of sight and darkness sets in in a matter of minutes. They had made a reservation at a spanish/tapas style restaurant about 100 feet from their door. Walking in was rather amusing as every single employee in the restaurant paused to greet and welcome them. Sitting down a roving trio of local musicians featuring two guitars and one , uh, noise shaker player, came over to our table and sang "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" for me. They told us we could make two more requests. Their ability to mimic the voices and perfectly articulate each word of the songs was remarkable. They did not know Freebird.
Eventually, stuffed and just tipsy enough to ensure I would sleep through the night, I was seen to a cab and headed back to the lights and insanity of downtown.
The market is mostly covered and big enough to exhaust all but the most ardent shopper yet small enough that one likely wont pass out from heat exhaustion and overcrowding. Prices are reasonable (or so I am told having no other frame of reference) and goods range from the most touristy schlock (Chairman Mao alarm clocks) to everyday items such as clothes, shoes, and cooking utensils. The patrons also were quite diverse from tourists like myself trying to pick up some souvenirs to locals just trying to run an errand. The atmosphere was quite pleasant. Unlike your average East or South European or developing world market, no one was harassing me or anyone else to enter their shop or purchase their goods. If anything the proprietors maintained an air of indifference, which was only disappointing when trying to negotiate. They would simply shake their heads and indicate that you could pay or move on, it was all the same to them. Almost every shop and stand accepted credit cards.
When I tired of the market I went back to the flat of the aforementioned friends and we enjoyed a couple of cool cocktails before heading to dinner. The sunset was rather beautiful but incredibly short. Apparently due to the global positioning of HK the sun just suddenly drops out of sight and darkness sets in in a matter of minutes. They had made a reservation at a spanish/tapas style restaurant about 100 feet from their door. Walking in was rather amusing as every single employee in the restaurant paused to greet and welcome them. Sitting down a roving trio of local musicians featuring two guitars and one , uh, noise shaker player, came over to our table and sang "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" for me. They told us we could make two more requests. Their ability to mimic the voices and perfectly articulate each word of the songs was remarkable. They did not know Freebird.
Eventually, stuffed and just tipsy enough to ensure I would sleep through the night, I was seen to a cab and headed back to the lights and insanity of downtown.
posted by -cn at 12:04 AM
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